


Magnolia Celebration

by Cassiopeia13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blood and Injury, Dark Magic Rituals (Harry Potter), Divination, F/M, Manipulative Tom Riddle, Oracles, Post-World War II, Psychological Torture, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Seer, Tom Riddle Can’t Love, World War II, or can he?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassiopeia13/pseuds/Cassiopeia13
Summary: Hermione was lost, once again. She felt the sudden coldness of the air, she remembered her scraped skin and bloodied hands. The screams, the wet stone under her feet. And then, the same voice, the one that made her nights sleepless.“Who would’ve thought that we will meet again, dear Oracle?”The cold light of the moon was reflecting off his pale skin. Tom Riddle didn’t change a bit.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle, Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Comments: 3
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

Hermione was not able to understand what kept her in Naxos. After the war, she came back here, not even questioning her decision to leave England. Those white marble columns, the mountain sides littered with herbs and small trees, they were her home. But still, as the time passed something creeped on the back of her head. A sense of uncertainty, something that she could not define. Quickly, the feeling became too clear to go by unnoticed, fueled by the information coming from England.

“Mysterious attacks on Muggles increase” - read the header of the article in a „Daily Prophet”, that she was lucky to get from some British tourists. For most people, the few lines of text would get lost somewhere between other, more interesting information. It wasn’t like attacks on Muggles on Muggleborns were something new - she still remembered the blood-chilling murder of that girl in Hogwarts. But the fact, that those attacks found their way to the press was a bit strange.  
Hermione laid the paper down on her vanity table and grabbed a pice of parchment and a quill. She let the ink dribble to the page, splashing and staining the pristine white sheet.

It was stupid and she knew it. It wasn’t a first warning sign that she got, and there was no way she would be able to do anything more about it, especially from here.

She set the parchment on fire and watched it crumble and turn to ash. Being unable to do something, anything, made her angry. Sometimes she hated her gift, seeing the future unravel before her eyes, but being forbidden from doing a slightest move to change it.

She knew the future, or at least a certain, most probable version of it. She knew, who is going to set everything into motion. She knew the end of the story, that unfolded under her touch all those years ago and hunted her to this day.  
She stood up and made her way to the window. One thing, that she loved the most about her quarters was the view. It was already getting dark, and the warm breeze was rustling through the trees. It was a novelty for her - from rocky slopes of Delphi, to grassy heaths of Hogwarts she came here. And it finally felt almost like home.  
Almost was the right word. Something, or rather someone was missing.

She shook off the thoughts that were threatening to make her lose her composure. Hermione wasn’t going to lose her night’s sleep over the same matter again. She needed fresh air and maybe a good, late night swim at the bay.  
Without giving it a second thought she stormed out barefoot of her rooms and rushed down the stairs. The white toga was held at her shoulders with golden clips, and there was a bluish silk cape hanging at her back.

When she arrived at the beach, she quickly undressed herself, and left her clothes on one of the stones surrounding the circular bay.  
Supposedly it was the place, where Aphrodite emerged from the sea-foam, in all of her godly glory. Hermione always wanted to be a goddess, living far away on the Olympe and making mortals’ lives more difficult. It was only after her mother explained it to her, that gods were nothing more than very powerful wizards and witches - Hermione possessing one of the purest blood in the archipelago was already one of them.  
She allowed the water to close over her head and she dived deep into the warm sea. It was almost like all the emotions were suppressed and blurred when she was here. She performed a simple charm, forming a bubble around her head. Hermione adored the serenity and calmness of the moment.

She swam a few lengths of the bay and emerged back on the beach. It was already dark and the moon was shining high and bright.  
It was the full moon - she wondered if she could perform a calming ritual, letting Luna bathe her in the milky glow of her light. But suddenly, somewhere behind her, she heard a rumble of rocks. It could’ve been an animal, or a simple movement of the ground. But her gut feeling told her otherwise. At this moment she hated that she left the wand in her rooms - she was able to do wandless magic, but it wasn’t like she could duel of defend herself properly. With a flick of her wrist, the clothes were back on her body. Second flick, and a protective bubble formed itself around her. Simple, but enough to keep off some weaker hexes.

Out of the shadows of the stony bay, a tall figure emerged. Hermione was lost, once again. She felt the sudden coldness of the air, she remembered her scraped skin and bloodied hands. The screams, the wet stone under her feet. And then, the same voice, the one that made her nights sleepless.  
“Who would’ve thought that we will meet again, dear Oracle?”  
The cold light of the moon was reflecting off his pale skin. Tom Riddle didn’t change a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

Tom Riddle didn’t change a bit. At least that was Hermione’s first thought. Same mischievous light blue eyes that attracted everyone’s attention, and pale skin contrasting with raven black hair, that fell slightly on one of his eyes. His words still hung in the air, when he spoke again

“What’s the matter, I thought you’d miss me? After all, for how many years we haven’t seen each other? Is it...”

“Ten, ten years”; those were Hermione’s first words, spoken in a shaky and silent voice “Ten years since I had the last letter from you. I thought you were...”

“Dead?” he finished for her and grinned “We both know this word isn’t exactly in my dictionary”

He took a few steps forward, cocked his head to the side and put on the most innocent smile “But you weren’t actually thinking that, were you? You read the news, you heard the gossips. _You’re so smart, you must have already figured it out by yourself. You know, I always thought you and I could make a good team. Our partnership could..._ ”

“Stop!” she shouted, the sea breeze carrying her voice farther and making it louder. He tried to read her mind, yet again. She felt weirdly disoriented after his attempt “Stop trying to get into my head. You know your tricks are of no use on me” 

Hermione cursed herself for forgetting to put up a shield against him. She became so distracted by his very presence it made her feeble-minded. He smiled again, but this time she noticed the changes. He definitely didn’t look the same. The smile didn’t reach his eyes - the sparks she noticed earlier must have been the effect of the moonlight - they were blank and empty, lacking any sign of emotions. His cheekbones were painfully poking at his skin, too prominent, making his previously boyish features too sharp. His skin was sickly pale, with a grayish undertone, no sign of red on his cheeks. He looked like a shadow of a handsome head boy he was before. 

“I apologize my dearest but I couldn’t resist the temptation, you must know I’ve been practicing and I’ve been dying to try some new techniques on you” he replied in a falsely sweet manner “But you seem surprised to even see me. Didn’t you have a vision or some kind of a dream that would tell you, I’ll visit you?”

Hermione started going through her dreams, looking for some kind of sign that she might’ve overlooked. She never paid too much attention to them, refusing the idea of uncontrollable sleep visions. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but cringe at the memory of a dead, black swan she saw a few nights ago. The symbolism was obvious, now that she looked back at it.

“I guessed you’ll show up, sooner or later. We have some unfinished business and you aren’t one for letting things slide that easily” she decided to give him an evasive answer “How were the things in Albania? Did you find what you were looking for?” She decided to pull out the one ace she had up her sleeve. It seemed to be working, a grimace passed through his face.

“So you were spying on me then. And here I thought you lost your taste for unauthorized readings. Or does The Congregation know you have been gathering information on me, can’t imagine what would they do with them.”

“I don’t need to explain my actions to you, Riddle. You are the last person, who would hear any explanation from me, actually. Especially after our last encounter in the Forbidden Forest” she replied. 

“Oh, is that so?” he said, pulling out his wand. She could see she irked him and she immediately regretted her words. She was wandless, stuck on a beach, with a powerful and merciless wizard, who held a grudge against her for the last decade. She was lost. 

“Then I suppose you wouldn’t mind me prying some explanation out of you” he continued, and before she could do anything, black smoke started coming out of his wand, first leisurely swirling in the air, then unexpectedly rushing towards her. She tried to cast a quick wandless protection charm, but it was useless. The black substance felt cold against her skin, spinning around her neck, ankles and wrists, getting into her lungs and eyes. She fell on the sand, unable to move, say or see anything.

“And now we’re starting the real fun.” she could hear his voice, as if she was underwater. Hermione started to drift off, when he uttered the spell. 

_“Legilimens”_


	3. Chapter 3

Gods damn the British weather and the humidity - Hermione thought to herself. She’s only been on the isles for over an hour, but her hair has already turned into a frizzy mess. She had to walk solid half a dozen miles to get to the castle from outside the aportation barriers. The walk through the meadows was tough, but she hoped to be able to explore the grounds in some more fortunate circumstances.

Now, luckily, she was sitting in front of a fireplace, holding a cup of cocoa, and had a blanket draped over her shoulders. The fire was crackling with fervor, bathing the otherwise dark room in a warm glow.

She missed the interiors of Naxos, all light marble and airy chambers. But the situation she found herself in wasn’t under her influence. 

The war was raging in Europe for nearly four years now, nazis overtaking a major part of the continent. Italy occupied the whole country and there was no way for her to stay in her temple. 

“I hope the travel wasn’t too tiring miss Granger” said the man in half-moon glasses and a three-piece suit. His eyes were piercing and if she didn’t know better, she would thought he read her thoughts.

“It wasn’t something I haven’t experienced regularly during the last years, professor” she replied 

~Oh come on Hermione, give me something more interesting~

She jerked her head up and scanned the room for the source of the voice. There was none to be found.

Suddenly, the doors opened and a young boy, presumably sixteen years old, emerged from the dark corridor.

~And we’re finally getting to the fun parts. I looked striking, didn’t I?~

“You called me, professor. Has something happened?” boy’s voice was silky smooth, just as his dark hair, that fell in locks on his forehead

“Tom, I’d like you to introduce miss Granger to our school. Show her around the castle and the grounds, make her feel at home”

Highly unlikely, she bitterly thought to herself.

“Yes, certainly professor. But has miss Granger been already sorted?”  
The old man looked at her again, the same look in his eyes, maybe a shadow of doubt and wariness.

“She was sorted into Slytherin, that’s why I called you Tom. You are the best person to help miss Granger to accommodate.”

~I knew the old fool was lying, you were never sorted, weren’t you?~

The same unidentified voice filled her head. This time she rose from her place near the fireplace and the surroundings melted into dark smoke.

——————

“So, you came from Greece?” - Tom asked her, when they left the Dumbledore’s office

“Yes, professor is my family’s friend, he agreed to take care of me for some time”

She hoped the boy, Tom, wouldn’t try to pry deeper into her situation. One of the conditions, that made her safe, was hiding her heritage. If someone connected her to Naxos...

“You seem to be utterly spend, Hermione” - he continued - “maybe you’ll take a few hours and rest a little?” 

His tone was polite, one might even say, caring. She looked up to meet his eyes, finding genuine concern. Years later she would contemplate on how good of an actor he was. Her well-being was the last of his concerns. 

They stopped in front of the entrance to Slytherin common room. The dungeons were cold and even more humid than the outside. The air was to thick for her liking, making it hard to breathe. Her head was fuzzy, thoughts turning into syrup, flowing slowly and lazily through her mind. Something wasn’t right, an alarm went of inside her head.

She once again studied his face. He was frowning, but a second later, she could swear, he grinned. She extended her arm, suddenly feeling a need to find something to hold to. The moment she brushed her hand over the skin of his wrist, a series of images flashed before her eyes. First a burst of light, then darkness, darkness...

~So it seems I got better but not good enough~  
The voice was bitter, unsatisfied, disappointed.

The next second she could feel the sand under her fingers again. Hear the rustle of waves. It was still dark, but moon illuminated the beach enough, for her to make out a figure crouching above her.   
She didn’t think much, lurching forward, grabbing the man by his collar and shoving him back, both of them falling on the sand. She blindly searched for his neck and squeezed, as hard as she could manage. 

It took her a few seconds to come around, and take her arms of him. He was clearly astonished, the fact he didn’t make a move when she lurched at him speaking for itself. But when he felt her retracting, he gripped her by the wrists, flipping them around and holding her down to the ground.  
This time she didn’t protest and allowed him to do what he wanted. They both were panting, breaths coming heavy and labored. 

“Why do you keep me out?” He spoke through his teeth “It’s just one thing I ask from you, it’s not much. I want to know what you saw” 

The last words came out more as a growl than human speech. He was clearly over the edge, struggling to keep his composure.   
Hermione asked herself many times, how he gained the knowledge of her gift. Oracles weren’t really something one would encounter anymore. How he connected her passing out, that day fifteen years ago, and the fact she could see his future. But this was unimportant. He knew and he wouldn’t stop hunting her, unless she gave him what he wanted. 

“Fine” she breathed out “I’ll tell you what I know” she looked up at him “But first, you have to do something for me”

A grin creeped along his full lips. His eyes glowed of a predator who finally caught his pray. Hermione realized she was lost.


	4. Chapter 4

Riddle followed Hermione along the slope of the mountain, where the Naxos temple was located. She could feel his stare on her back, judging and looking for a slightest hint of defiance. She was fairly certain she wouldn’t be able to perform apparition - Tom has probably already set a blockage on any kind of teleportation. Running would also be foolish, besides she already tried that. 

“I remember you being more talkative-” he mused, almost to himself “-I know that meeting me again, after so many years, must have left you quite astonished, Hermione, but there is no point in being silent”

“I think we have already streaked the deal and there’s so much to discuss” she replied rather coldly. She could hear him chuckle deeply behind her. 

“I’m fairly certain it’s the exact opposite. I agreed to do you a favor, but you haven’t yet specified what kind of favor it might be. I hope you know, what you can wish for”

Hermione has already pondered about her part of the bargain. They haven’t done any kind vows, so she wasn’t certain of anything at the moment. He was right, her wish couldn’t be anything too fancy, or he would lose his temper or simply not agree. _“Stop terrorizing the magical world”_ was certainly out of question, as well as _“stop killing people”_. He would just laugh straight into her face. But both of her wishes could be fulfilled, if only Riddle could be stripped of his powers, put to sleep for a minute. She could end everything before it got to serious. Of course it would go against the rules, but if she was going to safe thousands of people, putting her own life at risk, was certainly worth it. Damn the consequences.

“I have an idea, but you’ll have to wait until we get inside” she said after a longer break “I promise it won’t be too much to handle”

By the time she finished, they have already reached the main entrance. White marble columns were glowing slightly lilac, reflecting the newly-born light of the morning. Hermione put her palm flat on the massive door and whispered an incantation. The door slide open without a sound, and revealed the view of the inside garden and the altar on the middle of it.

She could feel, that Riddle was entranced. She remembered him talking about temples such as her own, way back at Hogwarts. How much he wanted to visit one, see everything for himself, witness the rites, read the manuscripts. If everything will go well, he would witness them first handed really soon. 

She motioned for him to follow her up the stairs into her chamber. There, she once again unlocked the door with a spell. When they entered inside, Hermione couldn’t help the sigh of relief escaping her lips, at the sight of her wand lying safely on her vanity. Nevertheless, she composed herself and managed to stop herself from reaching for it. 

“So-“ Riddle strolled towards an armchair in the corner of her room “-what are my lady’s wishes? I am a wizard of my word, you can be certain I’ll fulfill my end of the bargain. Of course you must do so first” he continued with a small smile forming on his lips. His gaze was cold, colder than she remembered it to be. Every last ounce of humanity was gone, pure hate and power left behind.

Hermione swallowed. “I think there’s a possibility to kill to birds with one stone as they say.” She studied his face one again “There’s a ritual, an ancient one, that allows the priestesses connect to the gods realm. If it’s true, you’re going to get your answers from the very source.”

“And what will you get in return? He quirked his brow “I don’t see how that benefits you”

Hermione sighed internally at how easy it was to fool him, at least this time. “I’m a scientist, Tom. We are talking about an ancient ritual, that hasn’t been performed for hundreds of years. If it works, it’s going to reveal so many possibilities of acquiring knowledge, _power_... “ She noticed how he moved nervously at her last words. She caught him in the net, and he wasn’t escaping her any time soon.

“But if that ritual is so special, why do you want to get me involved? Why do you tell me about it, if it’s so powerful. You must know, that if it’ll succeed, I’m going to get the most of it” He squinted at her, clearly searching for a sign of uncertainty, or worst, lying. 

“It needs to be performed by two, skilled individuals. Let me just say that finding one, even here, proved to be quite troublesome” Hermione flinched as if to show her disappointment in the temple’s residents “I need someone equally knowledgeable to keep everything in check. The amount of power, that’s going to be unleashed is monstrous, average wizard would die crushed by sheer brilliance and purity of it. But we, _you,_ are no average” Hermione grinned. He swallowed the bait, gods please make him agree to it.

Riddle stood up from the chair and walked towards her. He extended his arm, grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. 

“I’m in”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It’s my first work in English (it’s not my native language). All kinds of advice would be highly appreciated.  
> The title is inspired by Arctic Monkeys’ song “The Secret Door”.  
> I know, that the female character was previously an OC, but I decided to change it up a bit.


End file.
